


idiot in the window

by pervenche



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Best Friends to Lovers, Bisexual Thomas, Both of them are nerds, Chuck is adorable, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gay Newt, Happy Ending, I APOLOGIZE, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Harriet/Sonya (Maze Runner), San Diego, Shy Newt, Slow Burn, Thomas Greene, Thomas is a dork, Thomas is new, Windows - Freeform, angst because they are teenagers, beach dates, idk how to do tags i'm new at this, juniors in high school, maybe i'll add more tags later i have no idea how to do this, musician newt, newt has a cat named petunia, newt is depressed (mildly), newt is his next door neighbor, newt isaacs - Freeform, newt plays piano, newtmas - Freeform, newtmas au, parents are nice because we love accepting families, reaaaally fuckn slow burn as long as i can draw this baby out, summer friendship, their windows look into each others, then school starts oh no, there will be no smut because i cannot write sex scenes, they bond over books, thomas has a dog named roscoe, thomas is oblivious, track team, unbetad because i'm a wimp and don't send my work to people
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:27:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29925147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pervenche/pseuds/pervenche
Summary: in june before junior year, thomas and his family move from the mountains of vermont to san diego, california. they move in next door to the isaacs family, who have twins that are thomas's age. thomas is intrigued by newt, the quiet, brilliant pianist with a broken leg whose bedroom window faces his own. newt and thomas flip each other's worlds inside out and back again as the boys develop a close friendship over the summer that they carry into the school year, with the chance to grow into something more.
Relationships: Newt & Thomas (Maze Runner), Newt/Thomas (Maze Runner)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO FRIENDS this is my first fanfic in ages and my first work on ao3, which means i have no idea how to use it. i'm not sure if i'm going to do a post schedule, i'll just try to get the chapters out as soon as i possibly can. this is also my first attempt at any kind of au fic. enjoy xx

Thomas stepped out of the driver’s seat of his new (ish) car, his twelve-year-old brother, Chuck, leaping from the passenger seat. His parents had bought it for him as an apology gift for moving him across the country barely a month after his sixteenth birthday. It was a six-year-old blue Subaru Outback, which made slightly more sense in the mountains of Vermont but was now parked in the driveway of their new house in a suburb of San Diego. Quite possibly the furthest across the country that they could have gone (which Thomas had brought up, multiple times), but his parents wouldn’t stop insisting that the move would be “a new adventure” for all of them.

Thomas’ dad, Daniel, was a researcher and professor who had worked at the University of Vermont for Thomas’ entire life. When his dad received an offer to lead a new microbiology research program  _ and _ teach a class at the University of San Diego, he had accepted it on the spot. Since his mom Mary was a talented and highly-rated pediatrician, it didn’t take long for her to secure a job in the area either. 

Thomas was happy for his parents, he really was. He knew how important their jobs were to them, and how his dad had been waiting for an opportunity like this for  _ years _ . If anyone deserved that position, it was Daniel Greene. Thomas just found himself selfishly wishing from time to time that the position had come  _ after _ he finished high school. Literally only two years.

But now, Thomas had to start a new school at the beginning of his junior year, in a new city, in a new state, in a whole new climate. He’d barely even been to the beach in his life, how would he adjust to living just a few miles away from it? 

And it was  _ hot _ in June in San Diego. Of course, his parents had decided to up and move practically as soon as school was over. Thomas and Chuck had gotten one week of summer with their Vermont friends, one week jumping in the lake and camping in their backyards, and then they’d had to say goodbye. Burlington barely got over seventy-two degrees in the summer, which was just right for lake days and nighttime hikes, but in San Diego, it was already eighty-five. At eleven o’clock in the morning. Thomas groaned and pulled a box of his stuff from the trunk of his car.

“Help me out a little, would ya?” He asked Chuck, who had been staring at the house in awe. 

“Oh! Yeah! Sorry, Thomas!” Chuck winced apologetically, and rushed to Thomas’ side, reaching for some of his own things from the car.

One of the nicer conditions of the move was that Thomas’s parents had let him and Chuck load their things into Thomas’s car, and make a road trip out of the drive across the country. Granted, they’d had to follow their parents' U-haul the whole way, but it was still fun. Chuck was extraordinarily chatty for a twelve-year-old boy, but it really was nice for Thomas to be able to spend time with his brother. Ordinarily, they probably wouldn’t have spent that much time together in a confined space, but Thomas found himself both relieved and sad that it was over.

Thomas loaded a second box into his arms, and turned to face the house.

_ That’s _ why Chuck had been staring.

Thomas had only seen pictures of the house online, and clearly the pictures didn’t do it justice. Though smaller than their house in Vermont, because apparently a decent house in California cost a shit ton, it was considerably prettier.

Spanish-style and creamy white, the house stretched up two stories. It was literally only three bedrooms, which was why Thomas didn’t understand how it fit into a two-story house, but it did. Colorfully painted tiles lined the stairs on the porch, which wrapped around to the front door in a gentle curve. There was a rust-orange balcony that curved out above the garage, in front of two doors that doubled as large windows. The master bedroom. His parents were lucky to be able to get  _ that _ room.

Thomas’s parents had promised him the larger room, since he was older, and would be moving out for college (potentially) in two years. Chuck had pouted, but agreed without a fight, probably because he knew that he would get the room as soon as Thomas left. 

Thomas lugged his boxes inside the house, finding that it was even prettier and airer on the inside. It definitely lived up to his expectations of a house in California.

“Thomas!” Chuck practically shrieked from the top of the staircase. “Have you  _ seen _ your room? It’s  _ huge _ ! And the next door neighbors have a pool! I wish we had a pool.” Chuck frowned, then turned and darted away, vanishing from Thomas’ sight. Thomas sighed and moved up the stairs. 

“Your room is on the right, honey.” Thomas’ mom appeared in the doorway of the master bedroom, a lamp on her hip.

Thomas nodded from behind the boxes. “Thanks, mom.”

His bed had already been set up in the corner of his room (Thomas refused to sleep anywhere other than pushed up against the croner), and his desk and nightstand set up. Other than that, the room looked uncomfortably empty. Thomas set his two boxes down in the middle and looked around, studying the in-wall bookshelf, larger-than-necessary closet, and big window that faced the next-door neighbor’s house.

Thomas stepped up to the window and looked around. He saw that the neighbors did, in fact, have a pool. A nice one, at that. He also noticed that his window looked DIRECTLY into the window across the way from him. About to turn away, he noticed a flash of movement in the other window and narrowed his gaze across the way.

A flash of short blond hair, and the curtain snapped shut.

Huh.

***

“I don’t need your help to get the bloody post!” An angry-looking, British-sounding blond boy on crutches careened wildly down the gently sloped driveway of the house next door. Whoever he was speaking to was still inside the house.

Thomas froze. He hadn’t met anyone in San Diego yet unless the cashiers at Trader Joe’s counted (he didn’t think they did). The boy landed next to Thomas on the sidewalk, reaching for his mailbox. He’d propped himself up on his crutches, and Thomas stared at the massive cast that encased his left leg.

“Uhh, hi?”

The boy didn’t even look Thomas in the eye, aggressively opening the mailbox and snatching the few envelopes inside.

“Hello.” He said curtly, tucking the envelopes between his crutch and his armpit, and heading back to his house.

A blonde girl who looked strikingly similar to the boy rushed from the front door, and down to where Thomas was practically frozen to the mailbox. 

“I’m SO sorry about my brother.” She tittered, her big brown eyes glowing apologetically. “He’s been grumpy because of his broken leg.”

“Oh- uh, it’s fine.” Thomas muttered.

“Of course he had to go and ruin our first impression on the new neighbors! Mum is going to go mad when I tell her.”

Thomas, unsure of how to respond, simply watched her. Her accent was lighter than her brother’s, he noticed. But that might have just been because her voice was higher.She had big, hazelnut eyes, a stark contrast to her nearly translucent skin and incredibly soft-looking gold hair. With the way her long hair floated around her face and shoulders, and her generally small features, Thomas thought that she looked like a pixie, or maybe a fairy. 

“Oh, I’ve gone and messed it up again haven’t I? I forgot to tell you MY name. I’m Sonya Isaacs” She thrust her hand out, and Thomas nearly dropped his stack of mail going to shake it.

“Thomas Greene.”

“Nice to meet you, Thomas! I really hope my brother didn’t scare you off of us. The rest of our family is nice, I swear.”

Thomas chuckled. “It’s really fine. I’d be pissed if I had a broken leg, too.”

Something dark crossed across Sonya’s face, so briefly that Thomas could’ve sworn he made it up. 

She scrunched up her nose and rolled up onto her toes. “I better be off, but I’ll make sure that I stop by later with Mum, we’re all dying to meet you guys!”

And with a wave and a swish of her light hair, she was gone.

It didn’t take long before Thomas heard the familiar light accent ringing through the new house while he was unpacking his socks (had he always had that many socks?).

He abandoned the socks and made his way down the stairs, finding his mom, Sonya, and a petite blonde woman with similar features who could only be her mom. Chuck was hovering behind their mom. For someone so friendly and chatty, he tended to shy away from strangers. Thomas made it to the landing when Sonya caught his eye, brightening and waving.

“Hi, Thomas!”

Chuck and Mary turned, both of them smiling. 

“Ah, I heard that you’ve already met Sonya and my son. I am sorry about that, by the way.” The woman greeted warmly. Her accent was thicker than Sonya's or the boy's. “I’m Christine.” 

“Thomas, but you already knew that.” Thomas shook her hand, and she laughed.

“We were just getting to know each other a little bit,” Thomas’ mom explained. “Christine‘s a professor at USD too.”

“English, fittingly enough.” Christine chimed in.

“Thomas, how old are you? I wonder if we’re at the same school.” Sonya interrupted.

“Sixteen. I dunno which school I’m enrolled in, though.”

“Just the public school in the district.” Mary supplied. “Southglade high. Chuck’s twelve, he’ll be starting seventh at Cerro middle.” 

  
  


Sonya clasped her hands together and bounced up and down. 

“That’s where we go! And you’ll be a junior? Same as us?” 

Thomas blinked.  _ Us? _

“Me and Newt? My delightful brother.” She sarcastically dragged out the word delightful. 

Huh. Twins. That made more sense. At least he wouldn’t start school completely alone, he reasoned. Shame that Sonya’s brother— Newt— wasn’t as friendly as the rest of the family apparently was.

“Well, we’ll be off, leave you to your unpacking I suppose. But please do come over for dinner tomorrow night! We’d love to properly get to know you all.” Christine reached out and placed a hand on Mary’s shoulder, and Sonya nodded eagerly.

“Of course! What time?”

“Does seven sound good?”

“We’ll be there.”

Christine hugged Thomas’ mom, then Thomas, then Chuck. Sonya followed suit, and once again, the Isaacs left in a swish of blonde hair and warm smiles.

***

Thomas rolled out of bed earlier than he normally would in the summer, but he’d had a hard time sleeping in the heat. Everyone in the house was still asleep, and the sun was just up, as it was 7:30. 

Thomas fetched Roscoe, their Australian Shepard mix, from her little area in the garage, and shook her leash in the air to wake her up.

“C’mon, girl! Wanna go out?”

Roscoe jumped up immediately, tail wagging. Thomas chuckled, and bent down to tie his running shoes. 

“That’s what I thought.” 

He clipped Roscoe’s leash to her collar, and led her out the front door. 

He didn’t leave a note, because he’d probably be back before his parents got up, and even if he didn’t, they’d understand where he went. They knew that Thomas loved to run in the mornings, that he loved to run in general. 

Running was the best way for him to clear his head, to feel better about anything, and work off any and all pent-up stress. How fast he was and his competitiveness within the sport was simply an added bonus. 

Thomas jogged out onto the driveway, looking up and down the street, trying to decide which way to go. 

He looked to his left, up the street, and noticed someone sitting on the Issacs’ porch.

Thomas stopped and turned fully. 

It was Sonya’s brother. Newt.

He sat on the top of the three wide steps leading to their front door, his broken leg stretched out in front of him and crutches stacked behind him, on the flat part of the porch. A book or journal of some sort rested in his lap, and he looked up at Thomas like a deer caught in the headlights. 

Not wanting to intrude on whatever the hell he was doing, or make the blond boy any angrier than he needed to be, Thomas settled for lifting his hand in a simple, amicable wave.

Newt waved back, almost shyly. Thomas felt the corners of his lips curve into a small smile and jogged off in the opposite direction with Roscoe.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dinner at the issacs' house

Thomas fidgeted with the hem of his green polo, simultaneously hoping that it was nice enough while worrying that he was overdressed. His mom had firmly instructed him to dress nicely to impress their new neighbors, which was why he stood on the Isaccs’ porch in an ironed olive green polo shirt and a pair of baggy dark blue jeans that his mom had deemed appropriate. Chuck was wearing a blue striped button-up and khaki shorts, looking more grown-up than Thomas had ever seen him, despite his still round, rosy face and head full of boyish brown curls.

Christine opened the door, Sonya in tow, per usual, as Thomas was beginning to realize. The girl was basically a carbon copy of her mother.

Christine was dressed simply and nicely and took turns shaking the boys' hands and pulling Mary in for a hug. Sonya hugged everyone and led them inside. 

“We figured we’d eat out on the patio, it’s such a nice night. Mark’s already set up a table, and we’re in the middle of the cooking.” Christine explained.

Thomas was overcome by a feeling of warmth and comfort in the Isaacs' house. It was one of the sleeker, more modern-looking houses in the neighborhood on the outside, but on the inside, it had a homey, lived-in feel. A massive grand piano stood off to the right, adorned with stacks of books. Everything was neutrally color-coordinated, and it felt cozy. The Greene’s house didn’t feel like that yet, since they hadn’t even gotten everything unpacked, and had been there barely over a day. 

A tall, lanky, greying man stood in the kitchen and stepped in front of the sliding doors to the patio to meet the Greenes.

“I’m Mark.” His accent was the thickest, and probably the most distinctly British-sounding out of the group. He shook everyone’s hand, and then was immediately bombarded into science conversation with Thomas’s dad.

All Thomas heard was his dad ask: “So, Mark, I hear that you work in marine preservation and ecology around here? How fascinating.” 

He took that as his cue to leave because once his dad found someone willing to go back and forth with him about science, there was literally no stopping him.

Thomas’s mom had followed Christine into the kitchen, offering to help prepare the food, or asking if there was anything she could do to help.

With the sudden preoccupation of both of their parents, Chuck gravitated to Thomas’s side.

“Erm, why don’t we head outside?” Sonya flicked her long braid over her shoulder and floated through the opening in the sliding patio door.

Thomas followed, Chuck practically walking on his heels. He found himself glad that his mom forced him to dress up, at least a little bit, because the Issacs were clearly the type of people who always looked fantastic, without even trying.

That night, Sonya looked like a mermaid. Her braid was loose, leaving a few long blonde strands to frame her face. She wore a halter tank top with a swirling light blue and purple pattern, paired with a white wrap skirt. Even her brother, who was just in shorts (likely to accommodate his cast) and a plain t-shirt, looked great.

Thomas nearly stopped in his tracks when they got outside and Newt was already sprawled across the patio furniture. Thomas wasn’t quite sure what about his mysterious neighbor unnerved him so much, but for some reason, anything to do with Newt startled him and confused him,

Newt acknowledged their arrival not with words, but a simple movement of his eyes. He had a book propped up against the thigh of his non-broken leg, but Thomas couldn’t tell which book it was. 

Newt’s head didn’t move, but his eyes flicked upwards, giving Thomas and Chuck a once-over through the damp locks that fell across his forehead and the upper parts of his eyes. He looked as if he had just gotten out of the shower, and was letting his hair air-dry in the summer nighttime air. Thomas had done that the night before. The air was so dry, he hadn’t even needed to use a towel. 

Thomas moved to wave, but Newt had already started reading again. Sonya rolled her eyes and strode up to her brother, plucking the book right from his hands.

“Hey!” He protested, swatting at her. Sonya was quick and was out of his reach within seconds. She tossed the book onto what Thomas assumed was going to be the dining table.

“Have a seat wherever.” Sonya waved her hand over the various pieces, then sat down next to Chuck on a small couch. The only other seat that wasn’t on the couch next to Newt was the chair on his other side, so Thomas took that one. 

“Hi. I’m Thomas.” Thomas said quietly. He hoped that maybe it would go better than the first time.

Newt looked up at Thomas in surprise, and Thomas realized that he hadn’t seen Newt’s eyes up close yet. They were a lighter brown than Sonya’s, closer to a honey-like gold. 

“Hullo,” Newt said cautiously. “I’m Newt. Sorry I didn’t get the chance to tell you that yesterday.”

“It’s fine. Your whole family has apologized at this point anyway.” Thomas laughed. 

Newt raised his eyebrows, and Thomas suddenly worried if he’d said something wrong. He hurried to cover it up with a seemingly neutral question.

“What was the book you were reading?”

“Before Sonya so rudely ripped it from my hands?”

“Yeah.”

“The Da Vinci Code.”

Thomas perked up. “Oh, I LOVE that book! Do you like it so far?”

The corner of Newt’s mouth quirked up in what could’ve been the first smile Thomas had seen from him.

“Yeah, Tommy. It’s good. You always get this excited about books?”

Tommy?

“You don’t?” He shot back.

“I don’t get excited about much.”

There was a hidden message there, Thomas was sure of it, but he didn’t know Newt well enough to decipher it. Maybe one day he would, and maybe one day he’d know. But for the time being, he just sat back uncomfortably, unsure where to go with the rest of the conversation. He wished that Sonya would swoop in and save him, but she was animatedly talking with Chuck about some new movie that they’d both seen.

Thomas coughed, and Newt looked back over at him. Thomas noticed that his gaze had drifted out across the backyard, and over to the view of the hills to the side.

“Uh.. do you go to the beach a lot?” Thomas cringed internally because was that really the only thing he could think to ask his new next-door neighbor? 

Newt scoffed and gestured to himself, inviting Thomas to look him up and down.

“No offense mate, but do I look like I go to the beach a lot?”

Thomas quickly looked Newt from head to toe, taking in his sandy hair, dark eyes, baby face, lanky, pale body, and the cast obstructing his leg.

“... I guess not.” He mumbled. 

Newt shrugged. “I burn easily, I don’t like to surf, and I get cold too fast. You seem like you’d like the beach, though.”

“Huh?”

Thomas looked up at Newt and was surprised to find that he had slight color in his cheeks as if maybe he was embarrassed about what he said.

“Oh, y’know. Tan. Athletic. Eager. Beach material.” Newt didn’t meet his eyes, and for once Thomas was glad that he wasn’t the one embarrassing himself in the conversation.

They lapsed into uncomfortable silence again, Thomas fiddling with a loose thread at the bottom of his shirt, and desperately trying to come up with another conversation piece, one that would actually hold.

He was terrible at small talk. He missed his friends. He missed how Teresa could practically know what he was thinking because they’d known each other practically since birth. 

Conversation with her was never difficult, nor with their other two close friends, Rachel and Aris. Thomas had never really had to go out and make friends before, they’d always just been there.

“The Goldfinch.” He blurted suddenly.

“Pardon?”

“Have you read it? If you like the Da Vinci Code I think you’d like the Goldfinch.”

“Can’t say I have.” Newt shifted, attempting to move his leg so that he could face Thomas. 

Opening himself up. Body language. That was a good sign. Maybe the conversation wouldn’t be a disaster after all.

“I can bring it over tomorrow if you like. I have a copy. It’s like, my favorite book.” Thomas rambled.

“Alright then. No clue what it’s about, but I trust that you’re not giving me a shit book.”

“No, no. It’s incredible, I promise.”

“It better be.” Instead of coming off menacingly, Newt’s tone was more teasing. Thomas hoped that he meant it to be teasing because he wasn’t sure what he would do if Newt didn’t like the book.

He felt oddly drawn to the boy, and with a need to impress him or be his friend. Thomas found that strange, since their first and only interaction up until that point had been brief and rude. He figured that it was just his natural instinct telling him to make friends, to find someone familiar in this new, strange place.

As if on cue with his thoughts, Newt’s mom popped her head out the screen door and onto the patio.

“Dinner’s ready!” She called in her delightful accent. “Come load up in the kitchen.”

Sonya and Chuck jumped to their feet immediately, racing each other back into the house, Chuck nearly running smack into his and Thomas’s dad, who was walking out onto the patio with his plate at the same moment that Chuck was flying through the doors.

Thomas pried himself off the chair, and beside him, Newt tried to do the same. Thomas watched the blond reach for his crutches, which were propped against the armrest of the couch he had been sitting on.

“Bloody-“ Newt’s crutches clattered to the ground loudly, well out of his reach. Sonya leaned back out the door, moving to come help. Thomas jumped to his feet and waved her off. 

“I got it.”

But for some reason, instead of reaching down and grabbing the crutches first, like a sane person would, Thomas said “Here,” and bent down to help Newt up.

He was surprised when Newt let him practically hoist him off the couch, and wound an arm around his shoulder.

Thomas grabbed the crutches from the ground and carefully handed them to Newt. He transferred his weight from Thomas’s shoulders onto the crutches and gave Thomas a strange look.

“Thanks, Tommy.” He mumbled. 

“No problem.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm trying to get at least the first few chapters out as fast as possible, but bear with me because i literally started using ao3 yesterday xx

Thomas took the three porch steps of the Isaacs’ house in one go, his copy of the Goldfinch clutched tightly in his hand. Newt had told him to bring the book over whenever because he wouldn’t be going anywhere. So the next morning, after his run, some breakfast, (and obviously a shower, because it was hot out and he was sweaty), he made his way next door to give Newt the book.

Thomas wasn’t sure why he was so insistent on things with Newt going well, especially when the boy clearly wasn’t all that fond of him. 

Newt had warned up to him a little at dinner, though. After Thomas helped him off the couch. He was surprised that he didn’t make Newt more annoyed with the maneuver because Sonya had made it sound like he hated being helped and babied with his broken leg.   
If anything, Newt was nicer to him because of it. He even playfully challenged him at Mario Kart after dinner while the parents had a drink on the patio. 

Later that night, when Thomas was getting ready to pull his curtains shut and go to bed, he looked out his window and into Newts across the way. To his (pleasant) surprise, Newt didn’t immediately yank his curtains shut like he had the day before. Instead, when he hopped into view and spotted Thomas, they locked eyes and Newt offered him a gentle smile. Thomas smiled back widely, and then Newt turned away, and that was the end of that interaction.

It had been really nice, and Thomas had started to see that maybe making friends in San Diego wouldn’t be that bad, especially if two of them literally lived next door.

When Thomas approached the door, he noticed that it hung wide open. That usually meant “come in”, but Thomas didn’t want to be rude, so he figured that he’d knock anyway. 

Except when he raised his fist to tap on the doorframe, he froze, because the prettiest sounding piano music that he’d ever heard drifted out from inside the house.

Thomas’s jaw dropped. Whoever was playing was incredible. No wonder the Isaacs had such a nice piano. Someone in their family could play.

Abandoning all intentions of knocking and being polite, Thomas stepped inside the house as quietly as possible. He wanted to find out where the music was coming from, and he wanted to hear more.

He moved past the foyer and into the hall that split off into two areas. First, and to the left was the cozy-looking living room. Second, and just around the corner, Thomas knew because he had seen last night, was the open area with the gorgeous piano, which had to be where the person was playing. 

It made sense because the music grew louder and clearer the further Thomas crept into the house. He briefly wondered if he was being creepy, but tried to shake the thoughts off. He was just there to drop off a book for Newt, that’s all. The door was open, so he came in to drop it off.

Thomas approached the room that he was now certain the music was coming from and peeked around the corner.

Newt was sitting at the piano, playing easily the most gorgeous (can music be gorgeous? it can be beautiful, so why not) music that Thomas had ever heard.

Thomas stepped fully into the frame of the door, nearly dropping the book. His mouth fell open as he watched his new neighbor, mesmerized.

Newt was entirely preoccupied with his piano playing, which meant that he didn’t notice Thomas lurking in the doorway, or when he took a step further into the room to soak it all in.  
Thomas was captivated by not only the beauty and sheer perfection of the music, but with the intention and intensity that Newt played. Every movement and micro-movement of his fingers was intentional and controlled. His hands danced rapidly across the keys, and he didn’t even have sheet music propped up in front of him, which meant that he was either going from memory or making something up, both of which were incredibly impressive options.

“Woah.” Thomas breathed as Newt reached a particularly thrilling section of the song. As soon as the words left his mouth, he wished he could’ve taken them back because Newt stopped the second that he heard Thomas, and Thomas had never found himself longing to hear more than he had right then. 

Newt jumped, which wasn’t too surprising, as Thomas definitely shouldn’t have been there.

“Wha-“ He began.

“I’m so so sorry, I came to drop off the book, and the door was open, and there was no one else around and heard you playing and it was incredible…” Thomas trailed off, well aware that he had started to ramble nervously. 

Newt opened his mouth and closed it again, like a goldfish. He seemed at a loss and finally managed to tell Thomas, “Thanks,” quietly.

Thoroughly embarrassed to have been caught, Thomas bounded forward, dropped the book on the edge of the piano, and didn’t look Newt in the eye. 

“Here. Sorry.” 

Newt just stared at him, looking strangely vulnerable and caught-off guard. 

Thomas turned and left as fast as he could without being rude, his cheeks burning red   
as he slipped out the Isaacs’ front door.

***

After dinner, Thomas was laying on his bed and re-watching Captain America: Civil War on the newly installed TV on his wall. He sat up to take a sip from his water bottle and open the window. It had been a warm-- no, hot-- day, and it felt like all the heat in the house had decided to trap itself inside Thomas’s bedroom. He groaned and slid the window open.

He noticed that Newt’s window was wide open as well, and Newt was sprawled across his own bed, broken leg propped up on a pillow, and Thomas’s copy of the Goldfinch in his hands. A large orange cat was curled up against his side. 

Thomas looked at Newt, completely absorbed in the book. He turned back and looked at his desk, spying a stack of white copy paper that he’d yet to organize.

Thomas bounced away from the window with an idea, and scrambled for a black pen, also strewn randomly across his desk.

How are you liking the book so far? What’s your cat’s name? He/she is adorable.

His scrawl was messy but readable enough. He wrote in large letters across the top half of the page, leaving room for Newt to respond if he wanted.

Thomas carefully folded the page into a paper airplane, the kind that he usually used when he made them with Chuck and his dad. It was his favorite type, because it was the most aerodynamic and direct. 

He walked back over to the window, checked the creases on the airplane, carefully angled it, and launched. The paper soared across the (fairly short) distance between Thomas’s window and Newt’s and sailed directly into Newt’s room. Thomas smiled, pleased with his work as he watched the airplane hit its mark. It hit the pillow that Newt’s leg was propped up on, and fell to its side on Newt’s bed.

Newt jumped in surprise and leaned forward to snatch the airplane.

He tilted his head into the view of the window, and Thomas didn’t duck out of sight in time. Newt spotted him and lifted the paper airplane in the air as a question. Thomas nodded sheepishly and backtracked to his own bed. 

Newt rolled his eyes and unfolded the note. 

Thomas lay back on the bed and unpaused the movie, his leg bouncing in anticipation. 

He’d just let himself settle into the airport scene when the paper airplane just barely soared back through his window, catching on the windowsill. 

Not even bothering to pause the movie, Thomas rolled off the side of his bed and eagerly grabbed the paper, which had been refolded roughly.

Thomas looked out and saw Newt leaning heavily against his own windowsill. He smiled and shook his head, turning around and hopping (he wasn’t propped up against his crutches) the few feet back to his bed.

Thomas flopped down on his stomach and unfolded the paper airplane. Somehow, Newt’s handwriting was exactly what he expected it to be, all small letters and neatly printed words. It matched his voice. 

It’s quite the book, I can see why it’s your favorite. You sure ask a lot of questions, but her name is Petunia. She’s the sweetest nuisance. 

Thomas smiled to himself and squinted to read the even smaller note scrawled beneath Newt’s initial writing. It looked like it had been added later, maybe as an afterthought.

He saw that it was a string of numbers, with tinier lettering below it. The words read:

Just text me next time. Saves paper and you don’t have to aim for my window.

Thomas immediately entered the number into his phone and texted it.

And here I was thinking that my aim was good.

***

Two days later, when Thomas was heading out for his morning run with Roscoe, Newt was back on the porch steps, except he wasn’t holding anything. He was just sitting. 

Thomas waved, as he and Newt had started texting semi-regularly after the paper airplane thing. Mostly about the book, but sometimes about normal, friendly things. Thomas liked to think that they were becoming friends.

Instead of waving back, Newt beckoned to Thomas.

Thomas froze and tilted his head in confusion.

Newt beckoned more dramatically.

Thomas changed directions and pulled Roscoe up the driveway and over to Newt. 

“Morning.” Newt drawled.

“G’morning,” Thomas said cautiously, still confused as to why Newt might have called him over.

Newt twiddled his thumbs and averted his eyes away from Thomas, a hint of the more vulnerable look that Thomas had seen when he was sitting at the piano creeping onto his face.

“I know you usually run in the mornings, but I was wondering if I could come with you today?”  
Thomas blinked.

“You want to come on my run with me?” He repeated, letting his gaze fall briefly onto Newt’s crutches.

Newt snorted lightly. “I don’t think I could run if I tried, Tommy. But maybe, if you’re up for it, you could walk and I’ll hobble along?”

“Are you sure you’re up for that?”

“My mum would say no, which means yes.”

Thomas laughed. “Alright, then. C’mon.”

He extended his arm and Newt allowed Thomas to haul him to his feet, and he stuck the crutches under his arms.

“Ok,” Thomas started, “usually I run in the street, at least for some parts, but let’s stick to the sidewalk, sound good?” He pointedly looked at Newt’s crutches. 

Thomas had never had crutches before, but he knew that it couldn’t be a good thing for them to catch on the rough patches in the road.

They set off on the route that Thomas usually ran in the mornings, as it was one of the only things about San Diego that had become familiar so far. Thomas wasn’t expecting much out of the walk with Newt, as the other boy seemed fairly reserved and not so inclined to deep conversation, but he started asking Thomas questions almost immediately.

“Tell me about yourself, Tommy.” He commanded, once they walked part Thomas’s house and started down the street. 

“What is this, a job interview?” Thomas smiled to the side at Newt, who rolled his eyes. 

“I just realized I don’t know anything about you, and if we’re going to be friends, then I figured this would  
be a good place to start.”

A warm, pleasant feeling stirred in Thomas’s stomach. 

“We’re going to be friends?”

“Thought we already were. Just answer the bloody question.” 

Thomas smiled and shrugged. 

“There’s not a lot to me, I guess. I lived in Burlington, Vermont my entire life, because my dad worked at UV. I really liked it there, it’s nice and I was used to it, but I’m adjusting to San Diego, too. I like running, as you can proooobably tell. I did cross country and track at my old school, and I’m going to do it here. I like action movies and good books. My favorite color is green. My favorite food is fettuccine alfredo, but I’m a vegetarian. I have an unnecessary amount of energy and can’t drink coffee. I’m pretty good at science and math, but I think that comes from my dad. I like all kinds of music except for country.”

Newt nodded along seriously as Thomas spoke.

“Now tell me about you.” Thomas grinned. He leaned over and gently bumped Newt on the shoulder, which he realized was a bad idea as soon as Newt started wobbling on his crutches.

“Oi!” He shouted. Thomas grimaced and grabbed Newt’s upper arm to steady him. Newt shot him a combination look of thanks and disdain. 

“Alright.” He sighed as they turned a wide corner, the hot summer sun already beating down on them. 

“I was the new kid once, too. We moved here from London when Sonya and I were ten, for the same reason that your family did. Science opportunity for my dad. I play piano, as you’ve seen. I ran track before I broke my leg,” Thomas noticed that Newt didn’t mention how he broke his leg, and he decided not to press it. 

“most of my friends are runners, you’ll like ‘em. I like it here too. Weather is a lot nicer than England, and I’m here with my family, so that’s really all that matters. I like Star Wars, sci-fi, and good books. Mum’s an English teacher, so I’ve always been a reader. I’m already a caffeine addict. My favorite color is blue. Dark blue. I’m not a vegetarian, but I don’t eat beef. I don’t really have a favorite food, but I really like Slurpees. Specifically cherry Slurpees, which is something nice about here. We have those. I’m not much of a science or math guy, but I take the hard classes anyway. Maybe you’ll have to help me out.”

Thomas frowned. “You’re so much more interesting than me.” He complained.

“Are you saying that because I’m British?”

“...maybe. You like Star Wars?”

“It’s only the greatest movie franchise in history.” Newt deadpanned.

“Which movie is your favorite?”

Newt pretended to think for a second, then said instantly, “Empire Strikes Back.”

Thomas nodded. “Return of the Jedi.”

“Aw, you’re a sap, aren’t you Tommy?”

“...maybe.” Thomas repeated, and both boys burst out laughing.

Thomas realized that he hadn’t heard Newt’s real laugh yet. He liked it. It was light and animated and broke through Newt’s quiet and mature facade in a boyish sweetness.


	4. Chapter 4

Newt and Thomas took to seeing each other more frequently after their first “walk”, and not just across their windows. 

As June bled into July, Newt was switched from a bulky plaster cast to one of those black boots, with the thick soles that can be walked in, with an exaggerated limp.

Newt told Thomas that he was allowed the boot under the pretense that he wouldn’t put too much strain on it so it could heal properly (which Thomas agreed), but Newt claimed that he was fine unless it started to constantly hurt when he was walking around.

He still insisted on going on their walks, more frequently since Newt could actually walk (though unevenly). Newt had also taken up to walking into the Greene house unannounced, and Thomas did the same with Newt. 

One time Newt walked in and found Thomas in the newly furnished living room, finishing a phone call with Teresa. 

“I know, I know. It’s so nice here, you should come down.”

“You know I want to, Tom. But I can’t this summer. I’ll talk to my dad about Thanksgiving or Winter Break and see what we can do. I miss you so much.”

“I miss you too.”

“I gotta go to work but call more often. I didn’t realize how used to having your annoying voice around all the time.”

“I will.” He promised, lifting his eyebrows at Newt, who had appeared and was leaning against the back of the couch. “Alright, bye T. Love you.”

“Love you too.” Click. The call ended, and Thomas pivoted to face Newt.

“Who was that?” Newt’s proper accent was a nice contrast to Teresa’s high voice, which grew grainy and nasally over the phone, and unbearably loud sometimes. At least Newt was quiet.

“Teresa,” Thomas said simply. “My best friend slash ex-girlfriend who I’ve known since I was a baby.”

Newt cocked one eyebrow up. “Ex? Sure.”

“We tried dating once,” Thomas explained. “During freshman year. We went to homecoming together and then technically dated for six months because we thought that’s what we were supposed to do. We pretty much acted the same as we usually did, with occasional awkward making out.” He let out a fond snort at the memory. “Towards the latter end of the six months we realized that we probably shouldn’t technically be dating if we just do normal shit and then kiss and not like it from time to time. It was nice to try it out, but now we definitely know it’s not something to explore in the future.”

“Huh.” Was all Newt said.

They awkwardly stood on opposite sides of the room for a few beats, and Thomas tilted his head in a question and coughed.

“Oh! Erm, right.” Newt readjusted his weight, putting even less on his broken leg. “Have you been to the beach yet, Tommy? Like, properly?”

“I mean, on our first night we went down and walked out on the pier with our parents, and we’ve gone for a few morning walks out there on the weekends, but we haven’t had, like, a beach day, if that’s what you mean.”

Newt looked pleased. “That’s exactly what I mean.”

“Why?”

“Want to have your first one? Our mum wanted Sonya and I to go to the beach today, get outside, and we figured that you and Chuck might want to come.”

“Really?!” Thomas gasped. He bounced up and down like a little kid, and Newt grinned.

“We’re leaving in a half-hour. You’re driving, I’ll give you directions. I would drive, but I obviously can’t, and I don’t trust Sonya to drive our car.”

Thomas nodded eagerly, and waited until Newt had limped back out the front door to call up the stairs, “Chuck! Get ready to go to the beach!”

***

A half-hour and a lot of sunscreen later, Thomas, Chuck, Newt, and Sonya are settled into Thomas’s blue Subaru, with Newt having claimed shotgun because “he’s crippled” and Sonya and Chuck confined to the backseat. 

Chuck was wearing a neon orange rash guard and navy blue swim trunks. Newt, surprisingly in character, wore black shorts and a black t-shirt. Thomas joked that he was matching his boot, and received a smack to the shoulder for that one. Thomas was wearing dark green swim trunks with white stitching and an old grey shirt from a track competition. It was a little too small around the shoulders, but he figured that would be fine for the beach since he would be taking it off anyway. Sonya was the best-dressed of the small group. Her blonde hair floated around her, and she wore an early-2000s style orange and pink floral sundress. She seemed to be wearing a bikini underneath, but Thomas really couldn’t tell.

Newt directed him to the beach, after a few minutes of bickering with Sonya over which beach to go to. They reached a decision, and Thomas carefully made his way there.

It was the perfect day for the beach. Eighty-six degrees, a slight breeze the closer they got to the beach, and not a cloud in the sky.

Chuck bounced excitedly from the moment they stepped out of the car (Thomas with a gasp, Sonya with a grin, and Newt with a groan). To him, a beach day at the ocean was an almost entirely new experience, and probably the best day ever.

The beach was crowded, but there was enough room for them to comfortably lay out their blanket and set down their stuff. They brought a blanket, three beach chairs, and an umbrella (for Newt to sit under, since he couldn’t go in the water). 

Sonya took the bag with the blanket and towels and tucked the umbrella under her arm. Chuck eagerly grabbed two of the chairs, leaving Thomas to snatch the last one out of Newt’s reach.

The small group walked across the scorching asphalt to where a wide bike path faded away into the sand. 

“Crap.”

“What?” Everyone turned to face Newt, who had frozen back on the concrete.

“I didn’t think this through.” He groaned, gesturing to the boot on his leg and then to the sand.

“Just walk with it on the sand, it can’t be that bad,” Sonya complained. 

“I don’t want to get sand in this bloody thing! It’ll be impossible to get out!”

Thomas bit his lip, thinking. He got an idea, and his whole face lit up when he thought it through.

Newt looked sideways at him. “Whatcha thinking over there Tommy?”

Thomas shoved the chair he was holding into Chuck’s arms, nearly toppling his brother. 

“Hop on.” 

Newt laughed. “What?”

Thomas turned around in front of Newt and set his legs, bending down a little bit.

“Hop on. I’ll carry you to our spot until we set up the blanket.”

“You’re going to carry me?” 

Thomas nodded seriously and motioned for Newt to climb onto his back.

Newt mumbled something under his breath that Thomas didn’t catch, but climbed onto Thomas’s back as well as he could. Thomas hoisted him up the rest of the way, hooking his arms under Newt’s knees (careful to avoid the boot), and feeling Newt’s arms clasp snugly over his shoulders. 

Newt was taller than Thomas, only by maybe two inches (something he didn’t realize until Newt was off the crutches and walking around in his boot), but he was surprisingly light. 

Actually, it shouldn’t have been surprising. Newt was quite skinny. 

Sonya gave Thomas a strange look, and then said, “Alright then.” 

Chuck just laughed and followed Sonya out onto the sand. 

Thomas noticed he got a few different types of looks from strangers, most of them seemed confused, and the rest were more of the kind of face that adults used when talking to a small child. 

As Sonya laid out the blanket once they picked a spot about halfway between the water and the parking lot, Chuck unfolded the chairs, and Thomas held on to Newt, squinting without his sunglasses. 

Right before Thomas was about to set Newt down on the blanket, Newt tucked his chin onto Thomas’s shoulder. Thomas shivered slightly from the touch, Newt’s breath sending goosebumps down his neck.

“Thanks, Tommy,” Newt whispered. 

“Course, Newtie.” Thomas breathed back teasingly.

Thomas turned his head so that he could see Newt out of the corner of his eye, and noticed the boy’s crooked smile. He was suddenly extremely aware of the proximity of their faces. 

Thomas didn’t move, didn’t say anything, just let Newt slip off his back and unevenly onto the blanket.

He turned his attention to Sonya, who was pulling off her sundress and stretching her arms over her head. She was, in fact, wearing a bikini. A tiny one. 

“Sonya.” Newt groaned.

“What?” She asked innocently.

“That!” Newt pointed to the swimsuit, or more like the lack thereof. 

“I can wear whatever I want, Newton.” 

Chuck snorted at that, and Thomas pressed his lips into a line to keep from laughing. 

“I just don’t want you to get creeped on by adult weirdos. Or to get skin cancer.”

“I’m not going to get skin cancer, I put sunscreen on!” 

“And the creepy weirdos?”

“I haven’t quite figured out what to do about them yet.” She admitted. “Harri would tell me to kick the ones who looked too long in the nuts.”

Thomas let out a laugh that time. “Nice.”

“Who’s Harri?” Chuck asked, doe eyes wide.

Sonya smiled kindly at the younger boy.

“Harriet. My girlfriend. She’s in Colorado visiting her grandparents until July twenty-first.” 

“Oooh, cool!” Chuck exclaimed.

Girlfriend. Huh.

Sonya had never even hinted at having a girlfriend before, so Thomas was pleasantly surprised. His eyes widened a little bit, and he noticed Newt watching him intently out of the corner of his eye. Probably being a protective brother and gauging Thomas’s reaction. 

“She sounds badass.” He commented.

Sonya grinned fully. “She is. You’re gonna love her.” Then she turned and took off towards the water, shouting over her shoulder, “Last one in is a spoilt egg!”

Chuck gave Thomas a quick glance and shot off after Sonya, following the blonde girl with as much speed as his small body could muster. 

Thomas hesitated and turned to Newt, who was perched in the chair and had set up the umbrella. He held the bag that Sonya had carried in his lap, and was rifling through it. 

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright here on your own?”

Newt glanced up and smiled softly. “Yeah, Tommy. Don’t worry about me. Go have your fun.”

“Ok but are you sure? Because I can stay and hang out if you want.”

“It’s fine. I promise. Besides, I have your book to keep me company.” Newt lifted the copy that Thomas had lent him of the Goldfinch from the beach bag and waggled it in the air. 

Thomas nodded slowly and turned away from Newt. He yanked his shirt off over his head and dropped it in the general vicinity of the beach bag. He gave Newf a vague wave and jogged off in the direction that Chuck and Sonya had dashed off in. 

Thomas didn’t even notice where Newt’s eyes fell when he waved.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fourth of july

“Mom, pleeeeeeeeeease!” Chuck whined.

“No Chuck. We’re going with the Isaacs to watch the big fireworks.” Mary said sternly while she sliced an orange. The Greenes had been eating an abundance of oranges since they got to California, because they were everywhere, delicious and cheap. There didn’t tend to be much citrus in Vermont.

“What about some sparklers? Just some sparklers?” Chuck pouted, pushing his lower lip out and engaging his puppy dog eyes.

“No, Chuck.” Their mother repeated firmly.

Thomas caught his dad’s eye and they both made a face. It was the Fourth of July, and Chuck had been pestering about buying fireworks since they got back from the beach three days prior.

Mary kept insisting that they didn’t need fireworks, because they planned to watch the big fireworks show with the Isaacs.

Newt’s family didn’t necessarily celebrate the Fourth of July (“We’re British, Tommy.”), but they claimed to have a good, non-tourist crowded spot to watch the fireworks. Mark had warned Thomas’s parents about the crowds of tourists that flocked to the parade, and they all made the collective decision to stay away from it for the night.

To appease a disappointed Chuck, Christine and Mark had offered to throw a small party of sorts at their house. Mark and Dan were going to grill veggie burgers for everyone, Christine made homemade sherbet, and the kids were instructed to spend time in the pool.

Which was how, sometime into the late afternoon, Chuck went careening into their pool with a shriek.   
Thomas followed suit, and popped up in time to watch Sonya backflip elegantly into the pool.

“WOAH!” Chuck shouted. “Where’d you learn to do THAT?”

Sonya smoothed her hair away from her face and giggled. “I used to be a gymnast. Now I just do cheer.”

“You’re a cheerleader?” Chuck gasped.

“So we really just don’t know anything about you, do we?” Thomas wondered aloud.

Sonya smirked and shrugged, and Thomas understood that she seemed to do it on purpose.

He was about to ask what else they didn’t know about her when a slightly waterlogged, foam pool toy ball smacked him in the side of the face. Thomas barely caught it before it dropped the rest of the way into the pool, and he whipped around to see who threw it.

Newt sat, smirking, at the edge of the pool. His broken leg was sticking straight out to the side and resting on the concrete a few feet from the water, and his right leg dangled in. The awkward sitting position to accommodate his leg only allowed for about up to his shin to be submerged, but Newt didn’t seem to mind. 

Thomas popped the rest of the way out of the water, so that he was standing against the bottom of the pool and from his stomach up was exposed. He waded over to Newt, who sensed that Thomas was going to do something, and attempted to splash him by kicking his good foot and kicking up water at Thomas. 

“You’re lucky you have that boot on,” Thomas warned as threateningly as he could muster. “Or I would’ve thrown you in by now.”

Newt gasped. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Thomas reached Newt and tugged on his leg. “Would I?”

Newt yelped and scrambled back, and Thomas laughed, flinging water out of the pool and onto his friend. 

***

Sonya settled down on the outdoor couch next to Thomas and handed him a red popsicle. She didn’t look at Thomas, and so he followed her gaze to where Newt and Chuck sat on the other side of the patio. They were playing war (the card game), with Chuck throwing down cards enthusiastically and Newt matching him, the older boy occasionally throwing his head back in laughter. His real, happy laugh. They were both grinning widely as they played.

Sonya smiled fondly, and Thomas felt himself doing the same.

“I’m glad you guys moved in next door.” She said finally.

Thomas turned to her and smiled between licks of his popsicle. “Me too. I don’t know how we got so lucky to have you guys. It’s a lot nicer to not be completely alone somewhere new.”

Sonya shifted in her seat and nodded.

“You’re good for him, you know.” Her voice dropped. “He’s just happier since you’ve become friends. I don’t think I’ve seen him smile this much in a very long time.”

Thomas’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth, unsure about what to say. 

What eventually did come out was, “Really?”

Sonya poked her popsicle with her tongue.

“Yeah. I really didn’t think he was going to want to see anyone this summer. But now there’s you. He really likes you.” There seemed to be a hint of something else in her tone, and underlying warning.

“I really like him, too. I’m glad he likes being friends with me.” The words didn’t feel weird rolling out of Thomas’s mouth, because they were true.

“Good.”

***

Darkness settled after dinner, but it was still pleasantly warm outside. Thomas didn’t even need a sweatshirt. 

He was just fine in his t-shirt and shorts. He had brought a sweatshirt, in case he got cold, but Newt had stolen it in the car. He didn’t mind, because it wasn’t like he was going to use it anyway.

Christine and Mary took one of the Isaacs’ cars, and Thomas and Newt climbed into that one. Dan and Mark followed in Dan’s car, with Sonya and Chuck in the backseat with the snacks.

They were heading to the “secret spot” to watch the fireworks from. 

Newt was pointing things out to Thomas on the drive, they were heading to the north side of San Diego, in the hills. Thomas knew he probably looked like an excited little kid on vacation, brown eyes wide as his gaze flew between the windows, trying to take in all the sights of his new city and state. 

There were lights and smaller fireworks going off all over the city and through the various neighborhoods, distracting Thomas from all the things that Newt was trying to show him. 

“And our school is down that street a little bit.”

“I can’t see it!” Thomas frowned.

“Of course you can’t see it yet, you can’t usually see it from here. Don’t worry, I’ll show you around before school starts, I promise.”

Newt’s mom lifted her eyes and pointedly looked at Newt in the rear view mirror. She looked almost surprised, but flicked the expression off quickly and looked back out over the road.

Thomas didn’t miss the look, but he also didn’t press it when he realized that Newt was very carefully pretending that nothing had happened.

“Oh, look, we’re here.” He said with fake enthusiasm as the car wound up a hilly street without any houses on the outside edge, and very few streetlights.

Christine parked at a wide area in the road that curved out against the slope of the hill. The little metal barrier protected the edge, but the view was incredible, and there was no one else there.

The dads’ car pulled up less than a minute later, and the whole group looked out over the city. They could see almost the entirety of downtown San Diego, and of San Diego in general.

Mark checked his watch. “Fireworks should start in ten minutes.” 

“Cool.” Chuck whispered. Sometimes Thomas wondered if that was the only adjective that his brother knew. 

Sonya appeared at Thomas’s side out of nowhere and silently offered him a chocolate covered pretzel thin.   
He accepted it with a “Thanks,” and looked out to the beach, where people had started shooting off illegal fireworks out of anticipation.

“Is that the show?” Chuck asked when a string of them went off.

“No, that’s too far up the beach.” Thomas’s dad explained. “Watch out for them right about there.” He pointed towards downtown, and the concentration of lights in the center and towards the main beach.

Right after Dan had finished pointing, the first firework exploded up from the beach, and everyone went silent.  
Chuck gaped, and Thomas would laugh at his never-ending wonder and fascination with the world, but the show was pretty incredible. It wasn’t just a loud array of fireworks, it was choreographed.   
Newt nudged him in the shoulder, and Thomas tore his eyes away from the fireworks to look at his friend.

“Now,” Newt whispered down in his ear, “celebrating American independence would be a conflict of interests, but you lot certainly know how to put on a show.” 

That startled a laugh out of Thomas, which he tried to cover up with a poorly executed fake cough when Sonya turned and looked at him. Newt smirked and looked away, and Thomas eventually calmed down and turned back to the show.  
Sonya vanished almost as soon as they returned from the fireworks, to go spend the night at a friend’s house. 

Thomas’s parents sent Chuck to bed. It wasn’t all that late, only eleven, but the kid was yawning and stumbling, and would’ve fallen asleep standing up if he hadn’t gone to sleep right then. The parents decided to go back over to the Isaacs’ and have drinks, since they couldn’t have any before driving out to watch the fireworks.

That just left Newt and Thomas, standing on the sidewalk between their respective houses. 

“Wanna go to my room and watch a movie?” Thomas finally suggested.

“Which movie?”

Thomas shrugged. “I don’t care.”

“Sounds good to me.” Newt’s smile was illuminated by the glow cast off the streetlight across the street. 

Thomas returned it, and started the short walk back up to his house.

Thomas noticed that Newt’s limp was slightly more pronounced when they finished climbing the stairs, and he mentally smacked himself for not suggesting that they could watch the movie in the living room, where they didn’t have to climb up to a second story. 

Thomas didn’t say anything yet, but led Newt into his bedroom.

“Your bed is in the corner?”

“Yours isn’t?” Thomas shot back immediately.

“Clearly. You can see it from up here.” Newt waved his hand vaguely, and leaned against the non-corner part of the bed.

“Are you-” Thomas started to ask.

“I’m fine.” Newt insisted. But he winced when he sat down on the edge of Thomas’s bed, and gingerly lifted the leg with the boot to rest flat in front of him.

Thomas bustled around his room, trying to find pillows, or folded blankets, or even stacks of clean laundry that could be used to elevate Newt’s foot.

He eventually produced a slightly lumpy pillow and a folded blanket, and stuffed them under the black boot.  
Newt hissed under his breath in pain, gritting his teeth to muffle the sound, but Thomas still heard it.

“No more moving.” He insisted.

“Ok, mum.” Newt rolled his eyes, but he didn’t move.

Satisfied, Thomas waltzed over to his closet and dug around for a pair of sweatpants. His shorts were fine, but if he was going to be laying down and watching a movie, he wanted to be comfortable. He didn’t even really consider the fact that Newt was in the room when he started to change. Thomas stripped his shorts off (boxers underneath still, obviously) and slipped into a pair of light grey sweatpants.

“Oh, so you’re stripping in front of me now, are you?” Newt teased, a slight pink tinge to his cheeks.

“Sure am.” Thomas didn’t show any sign of reacting or thinking that it was strange, because he didn’t, and bounced onto his bed with the remote, landing between Newt and the wall.

Thomas handed the remote to Newt, who set his phone down in the space between the two boys. With the way that they had laid down, and the size of Thomas’s bed, there was about a foot of space between them, and a comfortable amount on either side.

Newt flicked through HBO, eventually settling on one of the older Fast and Furious movies (“a classic!”). 

“Can you believe that they’re still making more of these movies?” Thomas whispered, after he turned out the light and started the movie.

“They are?” Newt whispered back. It was silly that they were whispering, it wasn’t like they were in a movie theater, and they weren’t even being particularly loud. 

‘Yeah, didn’t you see?”

“No,” Newt’s eyebrows pinched together in a frown. “I didn’t.”

Thomas gasped and reached for his own phone, scrolling down something, typing something out, then shutting the phone off and setting it back down.

“Here, I texted you the link.”

“Thanks.” Newt muttered. His phone was sitting face-up between him and Thomas on the bed, and lit up instantly.

Thomas leaned over to peek at it. He realized that he’d never really seen Newt’s phone screen before. He didn’t know much about Newt that went beyond the Newt part. Aside from the fact that his friends were runners like Thomas, Newt had barely said a word of them. 

The first thing that he noticed was the massive slew of notification badges and unanswered texts. Did Newt never answer his texts? That was strange, especially considering that whenever Thomas texted Newt, the other boy would usually respond within minutes. 

The second thing that Thomas noticed was that the link did, in fact, come in. But the contact that it came in under wasn’t listed at Thomas. 

“...idiot...in...the...window? Hey!” Newt turned and made a grab for his phone, but Thomas was quicker. He stared at the name, and it stared back.

“I mean, it’s true, isn’t it?”

Thomas let his mouth drop open in fake offense, and flicked Newt playfully on the shoulder.  
Newt leaned across Thomas and reached for his phone. Thomas held it out of his reach, meaning that Newt had to practically climb onto his lap to reach the phone. It was certainly a feat, especially with Newt’s leg in a boot, but he attempted it anyway.

“Is that really all you see me as?” Thomas gasped. “An idiot in the window?”

“Well not now.” Newt grumbled. “But I like the name. So I left it.”

“Mmm.” Thomas jerked his hand out of Newt’s reach again, and at that point Newt was practically laying on top of Thomas. 

“Hey!” Thomas squawked. “I thought- I said- no- MOVING!”

“You have my phone!” Newt argued.

Thomas grumbled and drew the phone back to his side, where Newt’s hand was resting nearby against the bed.

“Thank you.” Newt grabbed his phone and rolled off of Thomas’s chest, settling his boot back onto the boost that Thomas created. Thomas couldn’t help but notice that when Newt rolled back over, he’d closed the foot of space between the two, and was almost pressed up against Thomas’s side.

Even though it was a nice night, Thomas appreciated the warmth. He leaned into it. Newt’s presence and his warmth was comforting. No wonder that Thomas fell asleep not even an hour into the movie.  
When Thomas woke up the next morning, there was a crick in his neck, his mouth was dry, and he was confused.

Is this what it feels like to be old?

As he blinked the bleariness out of his eyes, some of the fog cleared, and Thomas remembered why he had a crick in his neck; he'd fallen asleep during the movie. With his head leaned back at an awkward angle above his pillow and against the wall. With his clothes on from the night before. With Newt’s warmth pressed into his side.

Sometime in the night, Thomas’s arm had made its way up and over the pillow on the left side of the bed, and around Newt.

Thomas withdrew his arm quickly, hoping that his friend didn’t notice, and that he didn’t embarrass him with the placement. It wasn’t like he did it on purpose, it just sort of happened in his sleep. 

Newt stirred when he moved, and Thomas winced silently. 

“Sorry.” He whispered immediately, as soon as Newt’s eyes fluttered open.

Newt made a sound that sounded vaguely like, “Mmph.”

“We fell asleep.”

Newt’s eyes opened and stayed open, even though he was kind of squinting.

“You fell asleep.” Newt corrected, his accent thick with sleep. “I just turned off the movie and didn’t feel like walking all the way back to my house.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize for falling asleep on me, but you are going to need to apologize if you don’t let me go back to sleep in the next few minutes.”

Thomas guiltily slid off the edge of the bed, careful to avoid touching or disturbing Newt. He’d remembered that Newt had said he needed caffeine to get going in the morning, and intended on having coffee ready for him as soon as he was willing to get up, because he didn’t need a grumpy Newt on his hands. 

When Thomas got all the way off the bed and dropped his feet onto the floor, he could’ve sworn that he saw the corners of Newt’s mouth dip into a slight frown, but waved it off as him trying to fall back asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI i’m trying to get these out as fast as i can, thank you all for being patient. this chapter is fairly dialogue-heavy, and i hope it isn’t too much xx

Sonya was throwing a welcome home party for Harriet, because she deemed her girlfriend’s homecoming worthy of a grand celebration. Thomas really wanted to meet Harriet and some of their other friends, but Newt had expressed that he would rather be anywhere but there, and Thomas agreed to spend the length of the party with him and let his friend sleep over after.

They hadn’t had a proper sleepover yet, not since the accidental one on the fourth of July, so Thomas was able to do some actual planning and thinking beforehand. 

He went to Trader Joe’s for snacks, actually cleaned his room in case they ended up sleeping there, and bought like three different kinds of coffee for Newt in the morning. Thomas didn’t drink coffee, and he didn’t know which kind Newt liked, so being his indecisive self, just grabbed a few of the options.

His mom pointed out that he could’ve just asked Newt, but for some reason, Thomas felt like it needed to be a surprise, or something that he could just whip out in the morning for his friend.

Newt hasn’t given a specific time for Thomas to come over and get him, he just said “a while before 5”. Which was why, at 4:04, Thomas wandered over to the Isaacs house to find Newt playing the piano, and Sonya running around and finalizing things for the party.

“Hi, Thomas!” She sang when he walked inside, carrying an armful of containers that Thomas couldn’t even tell what was inside. “Newt’s at the piano.” 

Newt had stopped shying away from playing the piano in front of Thomas throughout July. He used to jump away from the instrument like it was on fire whenever he noticed Thomas standing there. When Thomas finally insisted that he pretend he wasn’t there, or just play something for him, Newt had obliged. He’d started with short but excellent classical pieces that Thomas couldn’t name for the life of himself. As he seemed to grow more comfortable, the pieces got longer, and sometimes piano versions of modern songs made their way in. 

By the end of the month, they were at the point where Newt wouldn’t just necessarily play whenever Thomas walked in on him, but he would sit down and play for him out of his own time, which practically made Thomas want to burst with joy.

Thomas strode into the piano room and leaned against the piano, watching a small smile creep onto Newt’s face when he stepped into view. Newt didn’t stray from the piano, not until he finished the song. Thomas didn’t mind. He liked watching Newt play. 

Newt finished the song with a flourish and leaned back. “Hey, Tommy. Did you see Sonya already?”

Thomas propped himself up against the side of the piano, resting his face between his hands.

“Yes. Now play something else.” He commanded.

“Hmm, bossy. Any requests?”

“Play something I know!”

Newt paused for a moment, thinking. He turned back to the piano, his hands hovering over the keys.

“If you don’t know this, I might have to kill you.” He warned, and then started to play.

It only took a few notes before Thomas’s eyes lit up. 

“BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY!” He practically screamed. “Of COURSE I know Bohemian Rhapsody. Who doesn’t?” 

“Good.” Newt said softly, his fingers dancing across the piano. 

Thomas just watched, mesmerized, like he always was. He sang along in his head, not wanting to break the song or mess with Newt’s flow— whatever musicians called it. 

Just before what would’ve been the “operatic section”, loud squeals sounded from outside. Newt froze, and Thomas frowned as the song cut off.

“I’m guessing that means Harriet’s here.” Newt observed placidly. “Wanna meet her before we go?”

Thomas perked up. The first person he was going to get to meet other than Newt and Sonya. 

Thomas helped pull Newt up from around the bench and they started out to the front of the house, running into Sonya and presumably Harriet in the hall.  
Sonya was grinning broadly, wrapped up in a taller girl who looked down at her with complete adoration.

They seemed to be in semi-coordinated outfits, and Thomas wondered if they’d planned that, or if it was just a couple thing where they ended up looking cohesive because they were.

Harriet was taller than Sonya, but that wasn’t really saying a whole lot because Sonya was quite short. If Thomas had to guess, he’d put her at about 5’7, maybe a little taller since he was trying to subtract from her platform shoes. She had dark skin that glowed in the afternoon sunlight, and her hair was twisted into tons of long, thin braids. She’d tied up about half the braids in a knot on the upper back of her head, and the rest of them hung down. She wore a simple black t-shirt, cropped and tight-fitting to compliment her high-waisted checkered shorts, which were colored with maroon, gold, dark green, and black squares. Her legs stretched down into those platform Dr. Marten ankle boots. 

Sonya was wearing a maroon babydoll dress with poofy sleeves and a headband of the same color pushed into her long, straightened hair. Her lips were painted with a dark gloss that matched the outfit, and at the moment her feet were bare.

Harriet untangled her left arm from somewhere behind Sonya and stuck it out to Thomas.

“You must be Thomas.” She greeted. 

“And you must be the famous Harriet.”

She grinned and looked over at Sonya, who refused to blush. 

Harriet shook his hand. “Famous for good reasons, I hope?”

“All good things, badass things, more like.”

Harriet nodded, looking pleased.

“And I’ve only heard the best of you. Sonya won’t shut up about how Newt won’t shut up about how gre-“  
Sonya elbowed her in the side just as Newt grabbed Thomas’s arm.

“Alllright, that’s enough. Let’s go get my stuff and get out of here.” He proclaimed loudly, tugging Thomas towards their stairs.

Thomas turned back quickly to look at the girls, who paused their whispering to look back at him. Sonya giggled and Harriet raised her eyebrows.

Ok, then.

Thomas let Newt pull him up the stairs with surprising speed, considering the potential hindrance of his boot.   
Thomas had only been in Newt’s room a few times, especially considering the time that Newt spent at Thomas’s house. 

It was immaculate, every bit organized and clean, part of the reason why Thomas had double checked his room before leaving to see Newt, he wanted it to be as nice as possible. 

Newt clearly didn’t intend for them to stay in his room for long, because he popped in, grabbed a small backpack off the center of his plain blue bedspread, and zipped back to where Thomas stood in the doorway. 

“Ready to go, Tommy?”

“Yeah! Wait- where exactly are we going?”

Newt laughed softly. “I’ll direct ya. C’mon.”

The first place that Newt directed Thomas to was a tech museum. He seemed proud of himself for bringing Thomas there, and it was almost adorable.

“You said you like science and engineering and techy things. We came here on a field trip once in one of our science classes, I figured you needed to see it so you could nerd out or whatever.” Newt was pretending to be chill, indifferent, but Thomas could see the gleeful glint in his eyes. 

Thomas did, indeed “nerd out” throughout the entire museum. Some of the exhibits seemed geared more towards kids, with hands on experiments, or large-scale simulations, but Thomas didn’t care.

“This is awesome.” He gasped, bouncing giddily as they walked into a room where they could scale down and make stars and planets 3-D.

After two hours of thoroughly engaging in every exhibit, Thomas was reluctantly willing to let Newt direct them out of the museum and to their next stop.

A small, beachfront Mexican restaurant, which according to the sign mixed “authentic Mexican food with laid-back California style!” 

Newt picked out a burrito packed with veggies and wrapped in a massive green tortilla. Thomas, overwhelmed by all the options on the menu and forced to make a decision, panicked and got the same thing as Newt. 

They took the food to go, and Newt led Thomas to a spot on the other side of the parking lot, a concrete retaining wall of sorts that separated the sand from the asphalt. Newt climbed up onto it and swung his legs over the front.

Thomas cautiously did the same, kicking his feet against the concrete and fishing around inside the recyclable bag for his burrito.

“This is nice.” Thomas commented with a mouthful of burrito, looking out over the beach. It wasn’t quite sunset, but the sun was golden and hanging over the water. 

Newt snickered and swallowed his bite before speaking. “Were you ever taught manners?”

“Just because I’m not as proper as you because you’re British doesn’t mean that I don’t have manners!”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“Says who?”

Newt just rolled his eyes in response and took another large bite of his burrito.

“This is literally the best burrito I’ve ever had.” Thomas groaned between bites. 

Newt looked proud of himself. “I thought you’d like it.”

“You know, I was really worried about this summer.” Thomas mused. “I figured I’d be lonely and miserable and have no idea about what’s going on, but it’s been the opposite.” He paused, getting shy for no reason that he could think of. “This has probably been one of my favorite summers so far. Kinda not what I expected, but in like, a good way.” 

Thomas looked quickly over at Newt, and then right back out over the beach, fixing his attention on a group of small kids cartwheeling down by the water.   
Newt was quiet for a little longer than Thomas would’ve liked, but he was too afraid to look back. He didn’t want to come on too strong and scare Newt off, especially when it seemed like they were becoming really good friends. Thomas had been told that he had a tendency to be too touchy with new friends, or blurt out things without thinking them through, and as a result some people wouldn’t want to keep being his friend.  
When Newt finally did say something, Thomas couldn’t help but breathe out a small sigh of relief. 

“I was thinking the same thing.” Newt said quietly. 

Thomas quickly looked back and to the side, surprised.   
Newt’s head was tilted downward, and he would have been looking at his burrito if his eyes weren’t peeking up at Thomas.

“I was actually really worried about this summer.” Newt let out a short laugh, one without any humor. “I thought it was going to be shit, that I was going to be stuck inside because of my leg, and that people were going to be all weird. But then you showed up.”

Thomas beamed, and couldn’t resist a quick poke. “So you DON’T think I’m weird!”

Newt’s mouth dropped a little bit. “That’s all you got out of that? Seriously?”

Thomas smiled fully and shoved Newt lightly. 

“Noooo. It was just the most important thing.” 

“Well you are weird, Tommy. Need I remind you of when you threw a paper airplane into my window to try to contact me?”

“Oh, you liked it. I bet no one has ever done that before!”

“Yeah, because your room was the guest room for the last people who lived there.”

“Pfft, even then.” Thomas waved his hand in the air and went back to his burrito. Newt looked at him for a second longer, then did the same.

As they ate quietly, Thomas let his mind wander back to Sonya and Harriet, and the party that was likely in full swing by then. He tried to picture what would be happening, or the kind of people that were going to be there.

“Tommy?”

“Hm?” Thomas jerked back to the present, where Newt peered at him from the side.

“Your wheels are spinning, whatcha thinking about?”

“Oh.” Thomas flushed slightly. He didn’t really want to bring up the party to Newt, since he had been so insistent on avoiding it. 

“Go on, then.”

“Why didn’t you want to go to the party?” Thomas blurted. Newt’s face fell slightly, and Thomas wanted to rewind to the beginning of the conversation.

“I guess I figured you’d ask at some point.” Newt sighed. “I know you probably wanted to go. I feel bad for dragging you away because I’m afraid to be there.”  
Thomas frowned. “No! I mean meeting people would have been nice, but this has been way more fun. I like hanging out with you.”

“Thanks.” Newt whispered. He coughed and started talking again. “There was something that happened towards the end of the school year that was kinda related with my friends, then I broke my leg and I was out for the last few weeks of school, so things just got weird with them. And before you ask, I don’t feel like talking about it yet. I’m just not really ready to see everyone. All at once. At a party. I’ve just actually been having fun with you and I feel like we’re actually friends, and I just don’t know about anyone else anymore.”

Newt had been playing with the foil wrapper that had surrounded his burrito as he spoke. When he finished, he balled it up and dropped it back in the back, only daring to look at Thomas for a second or two at a time.   
Thomas pursed his lips, trying to think of a way to respond, but his brain failed to supply any words. So, he did the only thing he could think to do, and leaned forward and wrapped Newt in a big hug.

Newt made a small noise of surprise, and stiffened when Thomas initially made contact, but then leaned into the hug a little bit. 

“I’m glad you trust me.” Thomas mumbled, refusing to let go, even when Newt squirmed. 

“Alright, alright.” Newt huffed a laugh, and Thomas released him. There was a slight pink tinge to Newt’s cheeks, but he looked happy, and that’s all that Thomas wanted to see. 

“Are you done? Cause I want to show you this amazing ice cream place.”

“Is it good?”

“No, Tommy. I’m taking you to a place where the ice cream tastes like shit.” Newt deadpanned, and Thomas burst out laughing.

***

Once again, Thomas couldn’t make a decision, and picked the same flavor as Newt at the ice cream place. It was technically two flavors, because Newt got one scoop of the flavor called peanut butter pie and one scoop of dark chocolate.

“Ok, we definitely didn’t have ice cream this good in Vermont.”

“Everything is better in California.” Newt said seriously.

“The mountains in Vermont are pretty nice.”

“Mate, you literally can’t say that if you haven’t been to Tahoe.”

“I guess you’ll have to take me there, then.”

“Ok, maybe someday, but it’s like, a ten hour drive.”

Thomas almost dropped his cone, and wished that he had gotten the ice cream in a cup like Newt. 

“That’s REALLY far.”

“California is huge, and we’re at the very bottom.”

“Well, yeah. I know that?”

“Do you?” Newt’s dark eyes twinkled, and Thomas gave him a light shove. 

When they finished their ice cream and got back to the car, Newt sighed and checked the time on his phone.

“It’s about eight. We should probably head back.”

“What, no more amazing plans?”

“Nope, you can take over from here.”

“But my plans aren’t even close to being as exciting as yours!” Thomas pouted.

Newt patted him on the shoulder absently. “I’m sure they are.”

They actually were more fun than Thomas had been thinking. It was literally just playing an old racing game on Thomas’s dad’s prized original PlayStation from the nineties, but Newt was thrilled. He’d never seen that specific game before, and kept repeating that “Mario Kart is a knockoff, isn’t it?”

He picked it up quickly and gave Thomas a run for his money, which had Thomas sputtering in indignation when he finally beat him, because there was just no way that he got that good that fast.

“I’m a man of many talents.” Newt said simply, as Thomas seethed. 

After at least five more rematches, Newt let Thomas pick out a Marvel movie. He considered Infinity War, but then quickly dismissed it because he definitely didn’t want to break down crying in front of Newt. Nope. 

“Which one is your favorite?” He asked desperately.

“Ragnarok.” 

Thomas immediately clicked it, and Newt snorted. “You’re that bad at making decisions, huh?”

“Shut up.”

Newt was sitting in the corner of the sectional couch, leg stretched out in front of him and elevated slightly on a pillow. He’d taken one of the blankets that Thomas had offered and draped it half over his pajamad body. 

At some point during the movie, Newt offered to share the blanket with Thomas, who accepted from the other end of the couch, and scooted in next to him.

They spent the rest of the movie in that position, Newt’s long body stretched out across the couch, and   
Thomas curled against his side with his knees tucked in. 

They spent the rest of the night there.


End file.
